Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Glimpses of Mumbai: Day 3

After a busy Saturday night with family, I spent Sunday hanging out with my parents at some local art galleries. The art scene is BOOMING in India and art is the new "must-have", which is a great development for India's artist community! We looked at some really beautiful pieces and some that were just mediocre (you'll have that), but unfortunately I wasn't permitted to take any pictures.

We also stopped by one of my favorite home stores, Fabindia. I have to admit, I did have some sticker shock here! It's no where near as inexpensive as it used to be!!! That said, its all relative, and I did pick up these cushion covers for way less than what I've seen in Cleveland. Fabindia does ship international, so take a look if you're in the market for home furnishings!

Here's some more pictures from around Mumbai:

A different part of the Mumbai skyline.

N's favorite building in Mumbai- an apartment building designed by Charles Correa

The Haji Ali Daragh- Mumbai's most famous mosque. For more on this landmark including legends surrounding is origin, go here

Pretty buildings constructed pre-Independence

Yes, that is a silver horse drawn carriage. Probably one used at weddings.

Indian food carts. This one sells raw pressed sugarcane juice.

So back in the day, before malls were all over Mumbai, shopping for clothing meant (1) you traveled internationally/waited for friends and family to bring you clothing from their international travels or (2) scoured the city looking for "finds" often in places like "Fashion Street" in the next two pictures below.

There's an art to shopping at fashion street: (1) You MUST have patience (2) You must also have a poker face. (3) Haggle, haggle, haggle. It usually goes something like this: You find something you like. You ask how much it costs. You're given price. You feign outrage at the suggested price and start to walk away. You are then presented with another price. You go back and forth for a few minutes and leave with a sense of immense satisfaction having successfully negotiated the transaction. The piece will then promptly fall apart 2-3 washes later.

So, if you make it to Mumbai and decide to tackle fashion street, you've been warned! : )